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Like a lot of people, we at ULoveBooks.com were brought up to look forward to trips to a book shop. We spent hours searching through mountains of stock to find that elusive next read. Even when the chosen book might be the last thing that anyone else would be interested in. The search always seemed almost as enjoyable as the book when we found it. There is something very unique about a 'real' secondhand book shop that is actually quite hard to put into words.

Our favourite book shops are the ones that have the slightly musty smell of books. The ones where you can tell that the owner is almost more interested in reading the stock than in selling it (yes, the comedy series 'Black Books' got it pretty much spot on). The sort of shop where browsing for several hours is actually encouraged. We know we are far from being alone in feeling this way. Unfortunately, we know that this small pleasure is coming under increasing threat.

The difficult struggle of the secondhand bookshop has already been well documented. Unfortunately, the small independent book shop appears to be an endangered species. Hit hard by the internet and the onslaught of the 'charity' shops specialising in books. We, however, love these shops and have decided that maybe we can help in some small way by starting a guide to traditional sencondhand book shops. Since we are based in the South West of England, we are starting our guide with shops based in this region and with book shops that we have actually visited. We will be adding to it periodically as and when we visit new locations.

If you visit a book shop, know of someone who owns one or own a secondhand book shop yourself, we would welcome your contributions. We don't make any charge for the service and will include links to the bookshop's website if you have one. We don't believe that book shops and the internet should be mutually exclusive.Together, maybe we can keep the traditional book shop alive.

To locate a bookshop, click on the county from the sub-menu to the left of this page and then scroll down the listings.If you visit a shop and would like to add a comment to it (or update our information from your own experience), please email us using ourcontact form. The shop details are correct at the time of listing but, we cannot be responsible for continuing accuracy. If you are making a special journey to any of these shops, please contact them directly before travelling.